Telefónica’s new Digital unit and Giesecke & Devrient have reached an agreement to establish a single European-wide platform for Near Field Communication (NFC) services. By the terms of this agreement, Giesecke & Devrient will provide the Trusted Service Manager (TSM) technology required for this, such as over-the-air (OTA) transfer and personalization of NFC applications.

Giesecke & Devrient will also deliver the life cycle management of Telefónica’s NFC application platform and will be one of the suppliers of NFC-enabled SIM cards.

Telefónica will introduce new NFC-based services, made available to end users through a wallet application, starting with deployment in Europe over the next few months.

This new NFC management platform on Telefónica’s network will also be made available to third-party service providers, including financial institutions, transit operators, and loyalty partners. Giesecke & Devrient’s TSM solution comprises a whole range of functions to manage NFC services over the air via the wireless network. These include administration, personalisation, and software updates for NFC-enabled SIM cards.

Joaquín Mata, Global Head of Financial Services at Telefónica Digital said: ‘The final goal for Telefónica is to build an open NFC ecosystem ensuring interoperability and offering service providers a friendly environment to deliver NFC services reaching a large number of mobile subscribers. Giesecke & Devrient is one of Telefónica’s strategic partners in building this new ecosystem and has the required technological know-how to turn NFC services in a commercial reality.’

Telefonica has run a number of successful commercial trials in different locations like Sitges (for payments), Pilsen (for transportation), and Distrito NFC (with employees covering several use cases).

Financial services is a key focus area for Telefónica’s new Digital division which has been formed to lead its growth in the “new digital world”.